Paultons voted the UK's best-rated amusement park
TripAdvisor recently named Paultons Park as the best-rated amusement park in the UK, as well as the sixth best in Europe (and 22nd in the world). So we went along to find out what just what it is that makes it so special.
The trip was particularly exciting because earlier this year, Paultons unveiled its new Lost Kingdom of dinosaur themed rides, adding two new family rollercoasters, Jurassic themed family rides, a dinosaur adventure play park and 4x4 Jurassic Jeep expedition through the new animatronic dinosaur infested jurassic world - straight out of the movies.
The new Velociraptor (above) is definitely not for the fainthearted. It hurled us at 40 mph around a 200m track, then hurled us backwards until we ended up back where you started (except with whiter knuckles). This is an absolute must ride for thrillseekers old and young.
The other major new ride to open is the Flight of the Pterosaur (below), a 395m suspended 'dinosaur coaster'. There is a separate queue if you want to ride in the front of the carriage - and it was well worth the wait.
Paulton's Park is also home to the world's first and UK exclusive Peppa Pig World, still an absolute favourite with younger ones and still looking as fresh as it was when first opened to the public.
Highlights included getting a good soaking on the River Ride and a couple of joyful rides on the Sky Swinger.
A day trip here will leave you wanting more: There are more than 60 rides, from gentle merry-go-rounds for the very young to the new family coasters in the Lost Kingdom that will keep kids of all ages screaming for more. We definitely want to go back.
Getting to Paultons is straightforward by car - it's at the edge of the New Forest National Park - just off the M27. The car park is large and free. There are also regular busses (or a £20 taxi) from Southampton Central railway station.
Top tips: Get there when the gates open and head to the back of the park to minimise queueing, bring swimming trunks for the Water Kingdom and pack the sun cream - just in case. The lunchtime lull is a good time to avoid waiting for the bigger rides. It's a good idea to match one adult per child (or have at least two adults for the group) as many of the larger rides require children under 1.2m to be accompanied by a grown-up.
